Digital Commons Network^™

Machine Learning With Gradient-Based Optimization Of Nuclear Waste Vitrification With Uncertainties And Constraints, Lagrande Gunnell, Kyle Manwaring, Xiaonan Lu, Jacob Reynolds, John Vienna, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

Gekko is an optimization suite in Python that solves optimization problems involving mixed-integer, nonlinear, and differential equations. The purpose of this study is to integrate common Machine Learning (ML) algorithms such as Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural network (ANN) models into Gekko to solve data based optimization problems. Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is used alongside ML for better decision making. These methods include ensemble methods, model-specific methods, conformal predictions, and the delta method. An optimization problem involving nuclear waste vitrification is presented to demonstrate the benefit of ML in this field. ML models are compared …

End Matter, Vol. 82 No. 3

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Circadian Misalignment And Childhood Obesity: An Unexplored Target For Intervention And Treatment, Mason Pilling

Student Works

Childhood obesity is a pandemic affecting almost 40 million individuals aged 5-18 globally. Many current interventions are relatively successful at treating childhood obesity, yet the rate of childhood obesity continues to increase from year to year, and current intervention methods are struggling to keep up. Mounting evidence suggests that sleep may be a crucial mechanism for understanding and treating obesity, yet sleep still remains a relatively unexplored target for intervention. Circadian misalignment, a measure of the difference between the body’s preferred sleep timing and actual bed and wake times, has been almost completely ignored in the literature, despite preliminary findings …

Population Structure, Diet, And Bioenergetics Of Introduced Smallmouth Bass In An Intermountain West Reservoir, Skylar L. Wolf, Natalie Boren, Benjamin Vasquez, Jack Dudding, Robert Shields

Western North American Naturalist

Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu is a recreationally important sport fish throughout much of North America, but population metrics are lacking in the Intermountain West, where the species is not native and where its performance may differ from other geographic portions of its range. We characterized population structure and condition, growth, and the feeding habitats and bioenergetics of a self-sustaining Smallmouth Bass population in Starvation Reservoir, located in northeast Utah. In this reservoir, Smallmouth Bass may experience environmental conditions (e.g., shorter growing season and greater water-level fluctuation) that are uncommon to other portions of its range. We found growth rates to …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Review Responds To Distortions Of Dna Evidence, Mormon Origins

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 2, 2003) responds in full measure to two works challenging the historicity of the Book of Mormon and the foundational events of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. The contributing scholars not only expose fatal flaws in the critics’ arguments and methods but also provide background information and perspectives that readers will find instructive. In addition, this issue of the Review evaluates several other recent publications in Mormon studies and includes a Book of Mormon bibliography for 2002.

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

“O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?”, Corbin T. Volluz

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Book of Mormon has come under frequent fire from its critics for allegedly quoting portions of the New Testament before the New Testament was written. A classic example of this is the famous phrase from 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Clear allusions to this passage are made by three Book of Mormon prophets: Abinadi (Mosiah 16:8), Aaron (Alma 22:14), and Mormon (Mormon 7:5).

Farms Review Takes Up Nibley, Dna, Book Of Mormon Origins

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (vol. 17, no. 1) is now available, offering its usual in-depth, incisive commentary on an array of recent publications and topics of interest to Latter-day Saint readers.

This is the first issue published since Hugh Nibley’s death earlier this year, and Louis Midgley’s tribute to this illustrious Latter-day Saint scholar has already proved to be one of the more popular contributions. The essay is essentially an intellectual autobiography in which Midgley (BYU professor emeritus of political science and associate editor of the Review) tells of his first encounter with Nib-ley, in 1949; his …

Design And Evaluation Of Miniaturized Ion Trap Mass Analyzers Using Simulation, Radhya Weligama Gamage

Theses and Dissertations

Mass spectrometry is a technique that analyzes the chemical compositions of compounds based on the mass-to-charge ratio of their ionized constituents. Miniaturized ion trap mass spectrometry finds application in a wide range of fields where portable, rugged, and reliable analytical instruments are required. Ion traps of various designs have been introduced over the past decades, each with their own unique advantages and capabilities. However, the process of developing a novel miniaturized ion trap mass spectrometer continues to be fraught with challenges. This dissertation discusses simulation studies pertaining to the development of a novel dual ion trap, the simplified coaxial ion …

Long-Term Persistence Of Desert Rodent Species In A Great Basin Sagebrush Community: Potential Effects Of Fire, Invasive Annuals, And Warming Temperatures, Lindsay A. Dimitri, William S. Longland

Western North American Naturalist

To test long-term stability of a desert rodent community and potential impacts of wildfire on the community’s stability, we live-trapped desert rodents from 2019 to 2021 at a site in western Nevada where we had previously trapped from 1989 to 1993. Trapping occurred in unburned sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and in adjacent burned habitat where sagebrush cover was removed by a fire in 1985. We also used online data to test for trends in estimated cover of annual and perennial vegetation and in ambient temperatures and precipitation over the >30-year period spanned by the trapping data. White-tailed antelope squirrels …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Byu Anthropologist Addresses Maya Origins Puzzle

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In 2001 the chance discovery of a 2,000-year-old Maya mural in a chamber buried beneath a pyramid in the Guatemalan jungle stirred the archaeological community. It was a sensational find, one of the most important for Mayanists in half a century. Rendered in brilliant colors with exquisite skill, the remarkably well-preserved mural reveals a highly sophisticated artistic tradition and hieroglyphic script predating the Maya’s golden age by 800 years.

Roosts Of Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis Septentrionalis) At The Western Edge Of The Great Plains, Brett R. Andersen, Keith Geluso

Western North American Naturalist

The northern long-eared myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) is a forest-obligate, tree-roosting bat of the United States and Canada. Most prior studies on roost characteristics were conducted in contiguous forested habitats of eastern North America, where roosting opportunities are potentially numerous. At the western end of its distribution in the Great Plains, M. septentrionalis inhabits narrow, forested riparian waterways. Because these ribbons of forest differ from habitats farther east, roost selection by M. septentrionalis at the western edge of its distribution might differ and affect management practices in the region. Moreover, M. septentrionalis is imperiled by a deadly fungal …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Symposium Explores Widespread Tree Of Life Motif

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Scholars from various disciplines and institutions gathered in Brigham Young University’s Varsity Theater on 28 and 29 September 2006 to explore the pervasive and powerful tree of life motif as found in civilizations spanning the Far and Middle East to Mesoamerica and as expressed in Latter-day Saint scripture and art. The following report highlights the two presentations by visiting non–Latter-day Saint scholars and briefly summarizes the others.

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Maxwell Institute Scholars Speak At Fair Conference

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Scholars from the Maxwell Institute, as well as a number of authors who contribute to the institute’s publications, delivered papers at the recent FAIR conference held in Sandy, Utah, in August. The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of Latter-day Saint doctrine, belief, and practice.

Making The Case For Cultural Diffusion In Ancient Times

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Old theories die hard in academia, at least when they are entrenched and have been defended intellectually with fervor. Only with overwhelming evidence to the contrary does the institutional status quo crumble and make way for new theories to find legitimacy within the academic mainstream. Illustrative of this struggle for acceptance in the academy has been the contest between the establishment position that ancient American civilization evolved in complete independence from the Old World and the “cultural diffusion hypothesis.” The latter proposes that American societies did not arise and develop in total isolation but were stimulated by connections from the …

Genetic Diversity And Evolutionary Potential Of Rare Plant Species: Mentzelia Mollis And M. Packardiae (Loasaceae), Joshua M. Brokaw, Megan R. Howard, Brianna N. Douglas

Western North American Naturalist

Mentzelia mollis and M. packardiae are narrowly distributed plants occurring primarily in the Owyhee Desert of southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho. Previous molecular studies have suggested a relatively old allopolyploid origin of M. mollis (4×) followed by the allopolyploid formation of M. packardiae (8×) from the combination of M. mollis and a second extinct progenitor superimposed with ongoing genetic introgression from other species in Mentzelia section Trachyphytum. Here we report the sequencing of the chloroplast intergenic spacer ndhF–rpl32 from 15 populations of M. mollis and 4 populations of M. packardiae as well as diagnostic analyses of their edaphic habitats …

Immediate Effects Of A Wildfire On Bats In A Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa) Forest, Keith Geluso

Western North American Naturalist

Suppression of wildfires and variation in climatic patterns during the last century have caused increases in tree density and understory debris throughout forests of western North America. These structural changes enabled wildfires to ascend into forest canopies, causing high-intensity, stand-replacing fires that affect wildlife differently than low-intensity understory fires. Bats are common inhabitants of western forests. They forage on forest-dwelling insects, and some species roost in trees. Herein, I report on the relative abundance and species richness of bats immediately after a wildfire in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest of southwestern New Mexico. Of 7 netting sites …

Asymmetry Of Gains And Losses In Human Decision-Making And Choice: Behavioral Correlates Of Loss Aversion, Money, Food, And The Menstrual Cycle, Marcia Mackley Ventura

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine if loss aversion is replicable as an overt behavioral response to potential gains and losses in complex, recurring, uncertain, and risky choice with real gains and losses of money and food. Cognitive methods used to determine the effect of loss have primarily measured verbal response to hypothetical choice scenarios in which participants cognitively predict their behavior in a series of bets or situations involving imagined monetary gains and losses. Less has been done using behavioral methods that measure overt behavioral response to gains and losses of actual commodities. The present study uses …

Stemficohort1preinterviewdata, Rebecca L. Sansom, Bryn Stclair, Jamie Jensen, Richard West

ScholarsArchive Data

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics faculty institute (STEMFI) is a National Science Foundation funded project designed to provide support, measurement, and training to BYU faculty developing their own student-centered curriculum.

This PDF file contains pre-institute participation interview data from the first cohort of faculty involved in the STEM faculty institute (2018).

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Scripture Update: El Niño And Lehi’S Voyage Revisited, Warren P. Aston

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In recent years several scholars have drawn the attention of Latter-day Saints to the phenomenon popularly known as “El Niño.”1 In 1990 David L. Clark highlighted the fact that a mechanism was now known to science that would permit, periodically, easterly sea travel across the Pacific, the direction Lehi’s party is understood to have traveled.2 ENSO, the more formal acronym for this phenomenon, comes from El Niño (the Christ child) and Southern Oscillation, referring to the fact that the changes commence in the southern Pacific Ocean. The intermittent ENSO effect creates an easterly equatorial current running counter to the prevailing …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Institute Supports Graduates And Undergraduates

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Maxwell Institute continues to encourage and support the work of graduate and undergraduate students through two funds.

New Series Launched With Book On Dna Research

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In the last few years, the topic of how DNA research fits in with the text of the Book of Mormon has become increasingly divisive. On the one hand, critics of the Church seize on recent DNA studies to claim that Native Americans are descended from Asian, not Middle Eastern, ancestors. On the other hand, faithful LDS scholars, including some of the most respected DNA researchers in the country, say the data from recent research is insufficient to deny or confirm the claims of the Book of Mormon.

Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry Using Printed Circuit Board Arrays For The Analysis Of Microparticles In The Martian Atmosphere, Elaura Luanne Gustafson

Theses and Dissertations

Charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) is a single particle technique capable of simultaneously measuring charge and mass-to-charge ratios for individual ions or particles. The linear array CDMS design theoretically has no upper mass limit and is therefore a choice method for the analysis of high mass and heterogeneous samples, such as dust microparticles in the Martian atmosphere. This dissertation describes the development of a novel charge detection mass spectrometer made of printed circuit boards (PCB) for the analysis of dust microparticles in the Martian atmosphere. Development of this device has required investigations in analysis methods and the engineering design of …

Robert Kingston Vickery, Jr.—In Memoriam, E. Durant Mcarthur

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.